When one enjoys the performance of an orchestra, there nevertheless is the recognition that very little has changed for many years with respect to the relationship between musicians and their conductor. Traditionally, musicians have played music from printed copies of sheet music. By having a printed copy of a music sheet during a performance, musicians can play an instrument and perform the musical composition without having to memorize the notes to the music. The capability to a play a variety of musical compositions without the need to memorize the musical compositions is of great advantage to a musician.
Nevertheless, printed musical sheets do have inherent flaws. The storage and cataloging of the sheet music also presents challenges, as it becomes bulky in volume and the paper typically does not age well. Musical sheets can be lost, a page can be ripped or missing, and pages must be turned during a performance. By having to turn a page of a music sheet during a musical performance, the musician cannot fully concentrate on their musical performance.
Printed music sheets provide a wealth of information to the musician; however, during a performance, a musician needs to focus their attention towards a specific portion of the music sheet during a performance. The specific portion changes throughout the progression of the musical composition corresponding to the progress of the musical performance. Therefore, not only does the musician need to focus their attention on reading the musical composition, the musician must not lose the dynamic position of the musical composition on the music sheet.
In addition to reading a musical score from printed sheet music during a musical performance involving a conductor, some musicians may need to watch the conductor's movements, instructions, and body language to properly play a song and perform as a group. For some musicians, concentrating on the conductor and the sheet music, which can include turning pages of the sheet music, can prove to be a daunting task. Because a musician must focus their attention and eyesight towards two different subjects, a musician's performance may suffer.
In recent years, there have been a number of patents issuing on various types of electronic music displays. U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,510 describes an electronic apparatus for displaying music. The system disclosed is adapted to monitor the performance of a piece of music and by recognizing predetermined reference signatures, to produce a page change command as necessary. Thus, performers are able to tell what portion of the musical composition is being performed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,760,323 is directed to networked electronic music display stands, and provides for the display of a musical score, which may be controlled by remote mechanical activation or by the sound of musical notes. A further source of control could be a timed system. It is envisioned that a plurality of these display stands will be networked to simultaneously display musical notes to a number of musicians.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,084,168 is directed to a musical composition communication system, architecture, and methodology. A system controller is used by a conductor to select a musical composition and to transmit all or portions of the information to a music stand to be used by a performer. The system provides that the conductor may be able to edit and make changes in a musical score to be transmitted to individual stands as necessary. The system provides flexibility to allow for the user to make and transmit changes, as well as to direct and conduct a musical performance to be followed by the performers at individual stands.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,348,648 B1 is directed to a system and method for coordinating music display among players in an orchestra. The conductor is able to edit one or more score parts of a composition using various techniques, and these edits are transmitted to the performers at individual stands.
U.S. Patent No. 2002/0066357 A1 is directed to an electronic music apparatus. The system includes a music control unit and provides for both music storage and music data distribution. Information is transmitted to music display sites in order for individual performers to access the music data for either rehearsal or performance purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,421,496 B1 is directed to circuitry that enables the superimposition of signals to enable images from dual sources to appear together through the control of their independent signals through phasing techniques. There is no recognition in the disclosure that such superimposition will have utility with bands and orchestras.
None of the cited references address some of the problems which have plagued orchestras and bands for years. Tentatively watching a conductor's movements while reading sheet music has challenged the most skilled musicians. Such problems are only exacerbated when a musician is mobile, such as the musicians in a marching band.
Further, up to this point in time, there has not been the ability to produce first rate music with various musicians located remotely from one another. With modern day amplification techniques, improved performances may be achievable, even with musicians remote to one another if there is proper leadership to create the necessary unity in performance.
Thus, up to this point in time it has been necessary to have a full contingent of musicians present for practices to enable the band or orchestra to benefit from the conductor's presence and leadership. This makes it difficult for performers, taking into consideration geographical issues and personal issues such as illnesses and other jobs. Difficulties in scheduling practices are prevalent with student orchestras and bands.